Kindness
by IAmKayDubs
Summary: All Berwald has known through school is harsh glares and fearful, nervous glances. So when a boy with a gentle face and a bright personality shows Berwald some simple kindness, Berwald appreciates it more than anyone could know.


Do you ever experience something so much that you become accustomed to it entirely? Even if it's something abnormal, something you shouldn't have to deal with?

Berwald felt that every day. That was his entire school career, being locked away by society.

He was terrifying to everyone. People would shiver in fear if they had to be near him, even if Berwald didn't move an inch. If he tried to show kindness towards someone else, they would assume Berwald was trying to scare them or hurt them. It became so tiring to Berwald after awhile, being ignored and hated, so he just shut himself in. He could talk, but he rarely would, in fear of being feared.

He went through the daily routine, fourth period coming around too slowly. The final class of the day, thank god.

He sat in his usual seat at the middle table of the second to last row, not even flinching or saying a word when his table mate leaned away from him nervously.

As class started, he nearly drifted off, but snapped awake as the teacher called on him to read the short poem they had been instructed to write. He paled. Public speaking was his least favorite thing, considering his thick accent and slight trouble with words. The teacher stared on expectantly, however, so he slowly stood at his seat, pulling his poem out of his notebook.

He started slowly, trying to enunciate every syllable, to pronounce every word. It didn't work very well, he kept tripping up and losing his place.

It was a train wreck for him.

Laughter bubbled around the room. Girls giggled shrilly while guys snickered evilly.

Tino watched the whole thing.

It pained him to see the kid at the desk diagonal from him struggling so much, and it was worse to hear the crude laughs that were forming.

Tino wanted to stand up for the kid, but he didn't even know his name, let alone anything about him.

The tall boy quickly finished off his poem, stumbling worse over the last words before sitting down immediately and resting his check on his palm, his nails squeezing tightly against his face as he tried to calm his nerves.

Tino felt terrible, he knew the feelings of embarrassment and fear all too well. Maybe the two had more in common than they thought.

Tino had always noticed, and noticed even more so now, that the other blond boy was very outcasted. People seemed to fear him, judging by the stiff looks and the way they would lean away from him. It was quite rude, in Tino's mind. Even if the boy was a bit scary and stern looking, that was no reason to avoid him.

Two more people were called, and then it was Tino's turn to read his poem. He wasn't one for public speaking either, but he made it through okay. He was standing stiffly, trying to avoid eye contact with others, it made things easier to handle.

He slowly sat down, relaxing, glad he didn't have to say more.

He looked up, only to see the tall kid watching him with stern blue eyes. It surprised him a bit, but he didn't allow himself to shut the boy out like everyone else had. He smiled warmly at the boy as the icy eyes gazed at him. It was Berwald's turn to be surprised, he hadn't expected *that* response. When he recovered from his shock, the smaller boy he'd been looking at had turned down to his papers and was shuffling through them.

That smile meant everything to Berwald.

Finally, the bell rang, and everyone stood up hurriedly, ready to leave. Tino, with his small size, was able to get to the door rather quickly. Just before he could step in front of the doorway to leave, however, a large hand fell on to his shoulder. Tino nearly jumped at the sudden contact, but kept calm as he looked up at the person who stopped him.

It was the tall blond boy.

Tino tried to greet him, but a deep rumble of a voice cut him off.

"Thank you."

Tino was curious. "What do you mean-"

"For showing me such kindness."

Before Tino could respond, the taller boy stepped away. As he stepped down the hallway with lumbering movements, Tino called after him.

"Hey! Wait! What's your name?" Tino questioned.

The other boy paused. He seemed conflicted about whether it not he should give his name.

"Berwald." He said, just loud enough for Tino to hear.

"I'm Tino!" Tino responded. Berwald nodded, ready to leave the school, but he heard something else.

"I'll see you soon, yeah?"

Berwald didn't say anything, but he gave a very small nod, he wasn't even sure if Tino could see.

He did.

* * *

As Berwald left the school, his heart thumped even louder than usual. The type of kindness he had received from the petite blond boy was foreign to him, and he had forgotten the warm feeling of happiness that spread through his body.

The boy's smile had been so gentle, so soft, and it had probably seemed like nothing to Tino, but it meant the world to Berwald.

Berwald smiled for the first time in a long while.

* * *

By the next day, Berwald longed to see Tino. Even if Tino had decided Berwald creeped him out, and avoided him, it would be just fine to see him.

He stalked through the halls as usual, ignoring the hard stares and calculating cold looks on peoples faces.

That boy had made Berwald so intrigued, and he didn't quite know why. It seemed to be something else besides just the kind look, it was the persona of the smaller boy that really stood out. He radiated a gentle feeling, and it made Berwald genuinely happy.

Berwald couldn't wait for fourth period, but it was for an entirely different reason than wanting to leave school.

Eventually, it managed to come around. The day had slunk by much slower than usual, irritating Berwald.

When he entered the English class, he found that there was a sub. Berwald celebrated internally, a sub meant little to no work.

Berwald looked to the board, only to see a little note written.

'Please sit anywhere'

Berwald went to his normal seat, only because his usual bitter table mate had chosen another seat in the front. This would give him a chance to sit in class and not be shuffled away from or disregarded.

Berwald leaned his head on his hand, nearly falling asleep, once again. However, a sweet voice piped up, drawing him back to the real world.

"Can I sit here?"

Tino.

Berwald nodded softly, not meeting the brown eyes of Tino. Tino smiled gently to himself and sat down. Oddly enough-to Berwald- when Berwald turned to look at him, Tino didn't cower away or shrink to the other side of the desk, he simply sat and looked right back, eyes bright and kind.

"Are you okay? You seem upset." Tino asked softly, after a while of the silent look from Berwald.

"'M sorry."

"No, it's okay. I was just seeing if I could help."

"'M okay." Berwald murmured. He mentally slapped himself. He was blowing it. This was the first person to be truly kind and accepting towards him in years and he was acting cold, and scary, like the monster everyone thought he was.

"That's good." Tino grinned.

"Thank you..."

"Hmm?" Tino turned to look at Berwald again.

"For yesterday." Berwald's voice was low and rumbling, even harder to understand than usual. Tino managed, however.

"Oh yeah, I deedn't get to ask yesterday. What are you thanking me for?"

"For that smile."

Tino was clearly confused. "Why thank me for that? That's a normal response, yes?"

"Not for me. People are scared of me."

"Hmm? Why's that?"

Berwald shrugged. "I'm tall, my face is evil lookin'."

"I wouldn't say so." Tino responded.

"You're the first."

"... Really...?"

Berwald nodded.

"That's so mean."

"Maybe so."

"Well, I don't think those things about you."

"Thank you."

"We should be friends, yeah?"

Berwald's heart soared. His first friend in so long. Deep in his mind, he worried about Tino becoming bored with him, or even worse, frightened, but he disregarded those thoughts.

"Yes, of course."

"Great!" Tino beamed.

"It is." He could think of no other response

They spent the rest of the class talking (mainly Tino talked while Berwald listened, it had been established that Berwald wasn't good at speaking, and didn't like it), and messing around, since they were never assigned work.

The bell rang, and the two stood up, and Berwald noticed how tiny Tino was in comparison to the giant that he was. He wasn't much shorter, only about five inches, but his petite frame caused a drastic difference in appearance.

"Hey, Berwald?"

"...Yes?"

"Do you want to come to my house this weekend?" Tino smiled softly. "It would be fun, no?"

"Mmhmm. I'll come." Berwald spoke softly. "When?"

"Saturday? You could stay over that night. I have extra space in my room."

Berwald nodded. "Sounds good."

Tino scribbled his address on a piece of paper and handed it to Berwald. "See you then?"

Berwald gave a little smile, a tiny curve of the corner of his mouth that was barely visible, and nodded.

"Of course."

* * *

Saturday arrived, and despite his stoic look, Berwald was elated. He was visiting Tino... His friend... The words seemed so odd and foreign, but also very welcome.

He rang the doorbell, waiting silently, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

The door opened to reveal Tino himself. He beamed at Berwald. "Berwald! You're here!"

Berwald nodded, trying to smile, but failing because he hardly ever smiled. Tino understood that he was trying, though.

"So, what should we do? Anything you like doing?"

Berwald shrugged. "I dunno. Haven't been out with friends in a while."

Tino nodded slowly, trying to hide how bad he felt for Berwald. Such a nice, gentle guy didn't deserve so much hate and ridicule.

"So, is there anything you do on your own that we could do?"

"'M not sure." Berwald looked up thoughtfully. "Video games?"

"Sure!"

So they played. They played for hours and hours, as Berwald enjoyed the company. He hadn't spent time like this with someone since he was a little kid.

When night rolled around, the two ordered pizza, thanks to Tino's mom leaving money for them, and ate on Tino's bed, with Berwald resting his back against the headboard, and Tino sitting facing him.

Tino got meat sauce on his nose at one point, causing Berwald to point it out and Tino to chuckle. Tino wiped it off quickly, his eyes still shining with laughter.

Berwald let out a soft laugh, surprising both of the boys. Tino grinned wildly at the small chuckle Berwald had released, and Berwald gave an awkward smile right back.

"This is so much fun!" Tino exclaimed a few moments later. "I wish we had met before, I love hanging out with you."

Berwald, despite being shown constant kindness by Tino, was still surprised by that statement. He nodded earnestly, giving another one of his Berwald-esque smiles. He had smiled enough that day to nearly make up for all the years he never smiled.

They put the pizza away and then returned to Tino's room. Tino stretched out on the bed, while still allowing Berwald space to sit.

After a while, Tino looked up at Berwald. "We should sleep? Do you want to?"

"I don't mind. If you want to, we can."

Tino nodded and got up to get a second blanket. "Do you need one? I get cold at night, I don't know about you."

"'M okay."

Tino nodded and crawled into the king size bed, curling up in the blankets like a kitten.

Berwald took a spot next to him, being careful not to get to close in fear of scaring Tino. Tino's face was almost entirely obscured by blankets, with only soft brown eyes and the top of his nose showing. Even without seeing his mouth, Berwald could see the smile in Tino's eyes. It made Berwald feel so content, so calm.

"Good night, Berwald." Tino murmured, already half asleep.

"G'night."

* * *

Blankets rustled all around, drawing Berwald out of his sleep. He blinked, trying to adjust his vision, only to see Tino struggling to kick the blankets off, as he shivered profusely.

He wasn't shivering from cold.

"Mmmm... Tino?" Berwald mumbled sleepily.

He heard whimpers, small pitiful noises coming from between soft lips.

Berwald could only lay stiffly, worried about what would happen to Tino if he tried to wake him up, and worried about what would happen if he didn't.

Berwald reached out a large hand gently, placing it on Tino's shoulder, rubbing up and down lightly. He hoped he could help him relax.

Suddenly, Tino shot up in the bed, fear blazing brightly in his eyes, his hands grabbing blindly at the air.  
Berwald's hand slipped from Tino's shoulder as he watched him, prepared to help if necessary.

Tino slowly stopped flailing, but he pulled himself into a tight ball, his back against the headboard, his face buried in his knees and his arms secured around his legs.

"Tino, are you okay...?" Berwald murmured.

Tino could hear Berwald, but he couldn't speak. He shook his head 'no'.

Tino nodded.

Berwald didn't know what exactly was happening, though it seemed like a severe nightmare or night terrors, so he was unsure about how to help. He just knew he had to make Tino feel safe.

Tino's trembling picked up again, causing Berwald's heart to sink. He was useless when it came to helping people, and Tino was in pain because of it.

The Tino heaved out heavy breaths, whimpering once more. "I can't.. I can't breath, Berwald... I can't-" Tino coughed.

"Uncurl your legs... You'll be okay, I promise."

Tino shook his head. "Berwald, I can't, everything hurts, I can't..."

"You're okay, Tino... Just, let your legs go, so you can sit better..."

Tino slowly unhooked his arms and slid his legs down so they were straight in front of him. "Everything hurts... Berwald, I'm going to die... I can't...!" The level of terror was increasing in Tino's voice.

"You'll be okay, you won't die... You'll be fine... I promise. I'm right here, nothing will hurt you."

Berwald slipped his arm around Tino's shoulders, causing Tino to collapse against Berwald's side. He shook and cried, but he stopped the fear stricken cries of pain, much to Berwald's relief, it was terrible to only be able to stay and watch.

After a few minutes if the heart wrenching sobs, Tino felt himself relaxing a bit. The panic that had washed over him, causing him to feel as if he had a weight on his chest was gone, leaving him only with the bitter and frightening aftertaste.

He came to his senses entirely after a few minutes, as his sharp breaths died down, and his tears dried on his cheeks. He noticed that Berwald's hand rubbed softly against the skin on his arm, soothingly, and it helped the relaxation even more. *"He's here... I'm not alone... I'm okay."* Tino repeated over and over in his head. He focused on Berwald's gentle touch, his hands a bit calloused, but also soft enough to be comfortable.

He still felt a few shivers, but he tried to ignore them. He glanced at Berwald, who held a gentle and sweet look on his face, worry etched in the creases of his expression. Tino sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to see that..." Tino whispered sadly. "I should have told you... I have terrible nightmares sometimes, and they cause me to wake up in a panic. I haven't had one in a while, I didn't expect to..."

"'M sorry I couldn't do anything..." Berwald said softly.

"No! You did great. I promise. You helped me relax... It helped knowing you were there for me if I needed you... Thank you..."

"No problem..." Berwald responded. "I'll always try to protect you..."

Tino nodded, a gentle smile finally gracing his lips. "Thank you, Berwald... You're such a kind person. Remember that..."

If only Tino knew just how much happiness and joy his own kindness brought to Berwald in the last few days.

Berwald slowly slipped his arm away from Tino's shoulder, allowing him to lay down again. Berwald followed, watching as Tino's head sunk into the pillow.

Berwald watched as Tino pulled the blankets tightly around him, as if his life depended on the warmth.

Because of this, Berwald slowly reached his arm over and draped it over Tino's body. Berwald shut his eyes instinctively, to avoid what he thought would be a fearful response. However, it never came. Instead, he felt Tino's smaller body snuggling closer, almost as if it were natural.

"'S that warmer?" Berwald asked gently.

Tino nodded contently, sliding into sleep once again. Berwald smiled as the top of Tino's hair tickled his chin.

_"He will be the death of me, I swear."_ Berwald thought, as he drifted off as well.

* * *

A/N: well, if you read my other SuFin story, this is the fic I mentioned in that one. I reworked the final section, so it was a bit better off... I still think the pacing went a bit too quickly, but I couldn't find a way to add in a better pace with out a whole long list of filler content. I'm hoping it's okay in the end though!

Okay, that's about it! I hope you enjoyed this!

-KayDubs


End file.
